Chapter 19 Explanation: "It's a red candle! Don't panic, everyone, it's just..."

Chapter 19 Explanation: "It's a red candle! Don't panic, everyone, it's just..."

"It's a red candle! Don't be alarmed, everyone. It's just a dripping red candle!" Upon hearing Master Fajing's words, Xiao Yan was startled and immediately shouted out the reason.

She couldn't let the nun finish speaking, or she'd be unfairly blamed. She'd been careless; she hadn't expected someone who seemed so compassionate and accomplished in her spiritual practice to be so willing to take someone's place when it really mattered.

Master Jing swallowed back the words she was about to say, her face even more ashen than before. She had just unconsciously committed such a despicable act!

While the Bodhisattva's tears and blood might ruin Jing'an Hall's reputation, if she had said those words, this young girl's life might have been ruined by her words, or even worse, her life might have ended there.

In that split second of choice, a single drop of candlelight illuminated the darkness hidden deep within her humanity.

"Red candle? What exactly is going on?" Hearing that the blood and tears were dripping from a red candle, the nuns who had been quite frightened regained some of their composure. Looking at Xiao Yan Hui, who was standing there calmly, some of them dared to ask questions.

“Look closely, everyone. There are no bloodstains or tears; it’s just a red candle.” Xiao Yan pointed to the remaining red mark on the face of the white jade Guanyin and the yellow paper.

A nun who was nearby came forward and carefully scraped the paper with her fingernail. Sure enough, a small piece of the red stain on the yellow paper was peeled off.

"Red candle, it's red candle!" Her tense body suddenly relaxed, and she raised her hand, showing the small piece of peeling candle residue to the people next to her.

At this point, Xiao Quexian, who had been crying so sadly and miserably, was at a loss as to how to react. Whether she continued to cry or stopped, it seemed that she would be in a very awkward situation.

But almost no one around him paid attention to his feelings. The nuns all crowded around him, one after another, to examine him carefully. After all, they would feel more at ease if they saw it with their own eyes. When they saw that it was indeed a red candle, they all patted their chests, looking as if they had survived a disaster.

If something like Guanyin's tears of blood really happened during their rituals, it would not only damage the reputation of their temple and themselves, but it would also leave them with psychological trauma. People with weaker mental health might even have to bring up things like stealing a piece of candy when they were young to repent.

"it turns out......"

"That scared me to death."

"Thanks to your intelligence, young benefactor, otherwise I don't know how I would have ended this today."

"Yeah yeah!"

"But how did this red candle turn into tears of a Bodhisattva?" Someone raised this question after the initial relief.

All eyes were fixed on Xiao Yan Hui, and at this moment, everyone looked at her as if she were a wise woman.

"Perhaps at some point, a drop of red candle wax landed in the eye socket of this Guanyin statue without anyone noticing. Today, the weather is hot, and the incense in the hall is burning brightly, with a brazier burning inside. The red candle melted from the heat, causing this misunderstanding. It seems that it was all just a coincidence."

Xiao Yan's explanation seemed reasonable and well-founded, but it couldn't withstand close scrutiny. However, no one present would bother to investigate further; everyone just wanted a plausible explanation to smooth things over.

Some people genuinely believed it was all just a coincidence, but Master Jingfa was definitely not one to believe such an explanation.

Looking at the girl still nestled in her grandmother's arms, and recalling her cries during the chaos, Master Jingfa, who had much contact with the women of the inner quarters, already had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

"This infighting within the Xiao family almost destroyed the reputation that Jing'an Hall had carefully cultivated for nearly a century, as well as my own state of mind after decades of cultivation." Thinking of this, Master Jingfa felt a mix of resentment and anger.

From the moment those evil thoughts arose, most of the peace she had cultivated through quiet meditation vanished. While the reputation of Jing'an Hall may be temporarily preserved, her spiritual practice has indeed been ruined.

"Although this candle wax was an accident, it still dripped onto my marriage certificate, old lady. I'm afraid it's an ominous sign." Wiping her red and swollen eyes, Xiao Quexian decided to continue the play according to the original script, even though Xiao Yanhui had interfered.

Even if an explanation is given, it's not impossible for her to insist that it's a bad omen.

"Amitabha, Layman Mingshou, today's Dharma assembly has encountered such an unexpected event, it seems to be an inauspicious sign. Perhaps something has offended the Bodhisattva, who knows? Let's call off this Dharma assembly, Layman and your family should go down the mountain." The usually peaceful eyes of Abbess Jing now flashed with a shrewd light, and her gaze became particularly dark and unfathomable when she looked at Xiao Quexian. Her words implied that she was urging people to leave the mountain.

When Xiao Quexian looked up and met the nun's gaze, her heart tightened: "Oh no, she might have discovered something!"

"Master, this, this, this..." Upon hearing the master's words, the old lady's calm expression was completely shattered. At this moment, she was like a child who had done something wrong and was being punished, but did not know what she had done wrong. Her face was full of tension and helplessness.

This was an extremely rare expression on the old lady's face.

Considering that the old lady had indeed been devout in her Buddhist practice over the years and had donated a considerable amount of incense oil, Master Jing's expression softened somewhat: "It's not possible this time. Let's reschedule the Dharma assembly. You all should go back to your rooms and rest. We also want to apologize to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas for the inability to hold the Dharma assembly smoothly."

......

"Xian'er, tell your grandmother the truth, did you do something?" In the courtyard where the old lady was temporarily staying at Jing'an Hall, the doors and windows of her quiet room were all tightly closed, and only the grandmother and granddaughter were in the slightly dim room.

At first, the old lady was indeed frightened by the blood tears shed by the Bodhisattva, but after everything was revealed to be just red candles, her suspicions never subsided.

"Grandmother, what can I do? What would I dare to do? Wouldn't that just be throwing mud at myself?" Xiao Quexian's face was full of hurt.

As she spoke, she burst into tears again: "I was already terrified by what happened today, and yet my grandmother still misunderstands me like this."

Xiao Quexian, who had been sitting there, suddenly knelt down on the ground, crawled a few steps, and gently rested her head on the old lady's knees. She was crying so hard that her shoulders were shaking and she was panting heavily. She looked so pitiful.

Seeing her crying like this, the old lady was somewhat convinced that she was indeed innocent and that her behavior today had truly frightened her. However, when she thought of the news from the Xiao family that the second branch of the family had been trying to cancel the marriage with the Qin family, the old lady began to suspect that everything today was a setup by them.

She didn't think that everything was arranged by Xiao Quexian. After all, she was only a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl. How could she have done such a thing? The old lady suspected the second wife.

"I remember that you were the one who chose that marriage with the Qin family back then, so why are you now so determined to break off the engagement?" The old lady still didn't believe that the red candles today were a coincidence.

"Grandma is wise. It was because I dreamt of a Bodhisattva appearing in my dream that I thought the Qin family was not a good match for me, so I thought of talking to my father and mother about whether we could change this marriage. It just so happens that my third sister was willing before, so I mentioned it."

But then my third sister seemed unwilling again, and my father said that the things in my dream were all fake, just my imagination running wild because I'm young. So I gave up the idea. But... *sobs*

As she spoke, she burst into tears again: "I never imagined that such an accident would happen in front of the Bodhisattva today. Grandmother, I really can't help but think about this. This must be the Bodhisattva's repeated warning to me. It must be that I am incompatible with that young man from the Qin family. I am so scared. I am afraid that I will die after I marry him."

"Nonsense!" the old lady interrupted immediately, but seeing the hesitation in her eyes, she was somewhat inclined to believe Xiao Quexian's words.

"Did you really have a dream before?"

"Yes, my granddaughter dares not lie to the old lady anymore. I dreamed that I kept vomiting blood, and my dress was covered in blood. A Bodhisattva was floating in the air and shaking his head at me. There was a figure in the distance coldly watching me. That was the young master of the Qin family."

Xiao Quexian spoke with great sincerity, because only the Bodhisattva shaking his head was something she made up; the rest were true events from her previous life.

"Whoosh!" Even though the doors and windows were tightly closed, a gust of wind blew in from somewhere, and both of them felt a chill down their backs and their scalps tingle.

......

With a "whoosh," the wind from the mountain stream swept up fallen leaves and grass, swirling over the walls of Jing'an Hall and into the courtyard of the rear hall.

Although there were many unexpected events from yesterday to this morning, after returning to the small courtyard where they were temporarily resting, neither the old lady nor Xiao Quexian, nor the people serving them, appeared again. Xiao Yan enjoyed a delicious vegetarian meal at Jing'an Hall at noon.

To be honest, it tasted even better than I expected. I didn't expect so much trouble today, but Jing'an Hall was still generally well-organized. Regardless of Master Taijingfa's character, he certainly has a knack for managing people.

After enjoying a delicious meal, Xiao Yan took a good afternoon nap. When she woke up, she felt refreshed and went for a stroll around Jing'an Hall. No one stopped her. On the contrary, she found that the nuns, both young and old, were very kind. Some of the younger ones even secretly inquired about the Red Candle Tears.

Judging from the nuns' voices, Xiao Yan realized that the nun Jingfa was indeed extraordinary; she seemed to intend to make this a testament to the efficacy of Jing'an Hall.

But none of that mattered to her. All she knew was that no one was bothering her right now, and she was able to stroll around like this, which made the whole world feel fresh and lovely.

After circling the courtyard several times, Xiao Yanhui's gaze passed through the marriage tree adorned with red ribbons of varying ages and wishing slips, and landed outside the courtyard wall.

There are taller trees, babbling brooks, and blooming summer flowers.

She was getting restless.